Camper loading and unloading device

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for loading and unloading a camper onto and off of the bed of a traction vehicle which includes an elongated link member; first and second attaching means for attaching the link to the bottom of the camper proximate the camper&#39;&#39;s front end and proximate its rear end; propelling means coacting with the link for propelling a predetermined segment of the link to a first position proximate the camper&#39;&#39;s front end and to a second position proximate the camper&#39;&#39;s rear end; and connecting means secured to the bed of the traction vehicle proximate the bed&#39;&#39;s rear end for fixedly connecting the segment of the link to the vehicle&#39;&#39;s bed such that the camper is drawn onto and off of the bed by moving the link segment between the opposite ends of the camper.

United States Patent Rasmussen [72] Inventor: Reed Rasmussen, 168 West Gentile St., Layton, Utah 84041 [22] Filed: March 30, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 23,877

[52] US. Cl ..2l4/5l7, 254/148 [51] Int. Cl. ..B60p 1/64 [58] Field of Search ..2l4/5 16, 517; 254/148 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,064,836 11/1962 Rupert ..2l4/5l6 X 3,197,054 7/1965 Settem .;..214/5l7 3,229,839 1/1966 Rasmussen ..2l4/5l7 2,811,269 10/1957 Anderson et a1. ..214/517 1,678,329 7/1928 Clarke et al. ..2l4/5l7 CAMPER LOADING AND UNLOADING DEVICE 51 Oct. 3, 1972 Primary Examiner-Robert J. Spar [57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for loading and unloading a camper onto and off of the bed of a traction vehicle which includes an elongated link member; first and second attaching means for attaching the link to the bottom of the camper proximate the campers front end and proximate its rear end; propelling means coacting with the link for propelling a predetermined segment of the link to a first position proximate the campers front end and to a second position proximate the campers rear end; and connecting means secured to the bed of the traction vehicle proximate the beds rear end for fixedly connecting the segment of the link to the vehicles bed such that the camper is drawn onto and off of the bed by moving the link segment'between the opposite ends of the camper.

7 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEDncra I972 3,695,472

SHEET 1 0r 4 I INVENTOR. 3 Reed Ras ssen His Attorney PATENTEDHBIB 9 3.695472 sum 2 BF 4 4o 42 I2 42 4o 42 INVENTOR.

Re/cyasm ssen BY v His Attorney PA'TENTEDnms I972 3,695,472

sum u or 4 INVENTOR.

JFIG 12 Reed asmus Hi S Attorney BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years a number of devices have been developed for loading and unloading transportable ob jects such as campers onto and off of the bed of a traction vehicle such as a conventional pick up truck. In my US. Pat. Nos. 3,409,154 and RE 26,546, devices are described which utilize sprockets coacting with racks attached to the bottom of a camper. Optionally, cables and winch drums are used in conjunction with the sprockets and racks for loading and unloading purposes. While loading and unloading devices of the type described in my patents are entirely suited for their intended purposes, like other loading and unloading devices they have the general disadvantage of being relatively expensive to manufacture and install. Additionally, the loading and unloading devices require a somewhat bulky mechanism to be secured to the bed of the truck upon which the camper is to be loaded which limits the use of the truck unless the mechanism is removed therefrom. This, of course, can prove to be a time consuming operation. For this reason a great need has arisen for a loading and unloading device particularly suited for use with campers which is relatively simple in design, inexpensive to construct, which does not require the removal of any structure from the truck bed when the camper is not in use, and which has essentially all of the desirable loading and unloading characteristics of presently existing devices. Accordingly, it is the principal object of this invention to provide such a loading and unloading device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In its broadest form the invention relates to apparatus for loading and unloading transportable objects onto and off of the bed of a traction vehicle which includes an elongated cord like member; attaching means secured to the bottom of the transportable object for attaching the cord like member to the object; propelling means coacting with the cord like member for propelling a predetermined segment of the member to a first position proximately the front end of the transportable object and to a second position proximate the rear end of said transportable object; and connecting means secured to the bed of the traction vehicle proximate the rear end of said bed for fixedly connecting the segment of the cord like member to said bed such that the transportable object is drawn onto and off of the bed of the traction vehicle by moving the segment of the cord like member between the opposite ends of the transportable object.

In another embodiment of the invention, a plurality of spaced cord like members are attached to the bottom of the transportable object for keeping the object aligned with the bed of the vehicle as the object is loaded and unloaded.

In still another embodiment of the invention, the propelling means includes a rotatable drum positioned proximate the rear end of the transportable object and the cord like member is wrapped upon the drum.

In still another embodiment of the invention, the cord like member is a cable with an enlarged bead fixedly attached thereto ,which coacts with a connecting bracket secured to the bed of the vehicle for securing the bead to the bracket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS So that the invention may be more readily understood and carried into effect, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which are offered by way of example only and are not to be taken as limiting the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims which obviously embrace equivalent structures.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a traction vehicle having a transportable object such as a camper or coach mounted on the vehicle bedl.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the lower portion of the camper of FIG. 1 showing the camper supported by legs.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the camper shown in FIG. 1 in loading relationship with the bed of the pickup truck.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of a conventional camper with a portion of the loading and unloading apparatus of this invention attached thereto.

FIG. 5 is a side view, partially broken away, of a camper mounted on the bed of a pickup truck with the loading and unloading apparatus of this invention.

FIG. 6 is a top view of one type of attaching bracket suitable for mounting on the bed of a traction vehicle for securing a cable against longitudinal movement.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the bracket shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken in the plane of line 8-8 of FIG. 6 looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a mounting bracket used to secure a cable drum to the bottom of a camper.

FIG. 10 is a side view of one type of attaching device for attaching a cable to the front end of the transportable object.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of an end of a cable drum suitable for winding cable thereon in accordance with the structure of this invention.

FIG. 12 is a plan view, partially broken away, of a cable suitable for use with the loading and unloading device of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularly to the drawings, FIG. I shows a traction vehicle 10 provided with bed 11 which supports bottom 12 of a transportable object 13 such as a camper. Transportable object 13 is shown in a transportable position on bed 12 of vehicle 10 and ready for travel. For purpose of simplification throughout the following description the transportable object will be referred to as a camper. I

In FIG. 2 camper 13 is supported on front legs 14 and rear legs 15. Said legs can be any conventional camper support legs such as described in my US. Pat. Ser. No. 3,409,272 which are attached to camper 13 with upper attaching means 16 and bottom plate 17. When camper 13 is in a transportable position as shown in FIG. 1 legs 14 and 15 are held in their horizontal storage position.

FIG. 3 shows camper 13 positioned so that it can be loaded on bed 11 of vehicle 10. Front legs 14 of the camper have been extended to raise the camper so that its bottom 12 is at a position elevated above bed 11. In loading the camper, front legs 1-4 are shortened by rotating crank 18 until the front of the camper 13 contacts the camper loading means 19 of this invention,

a camper onto the truck bed. Front legs 14 are then rotated to a horizontal storage position and attached to connector 21. Thereafter, camper 13 is further drawn onto the bed 11 until the camper is entirely supported by the bed. At this time rear legs 15 are rotated to their horizontal storage position and attached to connector 22. Rear legs 14 are generally provided with slides or rollers such as wheels 23 so that camper 13 can be drawn towards truck 10.

Referring now more particularly to driving means 19, the preferred form of the device includes side strips 21 attached to camper bottom 12 along the opposite side edges of the camper; a cable drum 22 joumaled within drum housings 23 secured to the side strips proximate the portion of the rear end of camper bottom 12; support brackets 24 connected to the ends of side strips 21 opposite cable drum 22; cable switchback pulleys 25 secured to brackets 24; and propelling cables 26 that are mounted over Switchback pulleys 25, wound around cable drum 22, and affixed at their opposite ends to said drum 22. Tie-down brackets 27 are attached to vehicle bed 11 proximate the rear end of the bed in a position to coact with cable 26. Brackets 27 are designed to receive a bead 28 fixedly attached to each of the cables 26 at a predetermined position thereon and hold the bead and cable against longitudinal movement with respect to the bracket 27.

Bracket 27 is illustrated in FIG. 68. As shown, the bracket includes a base plate 30 having bore holes 31 positioned therein for bolting it to vehicle bed 11. Spaced cable guides 32 are attached to base plate 30 proximate the back side 33 of the plate and additional spaced cable guides 34 are secured to plate 30 proximate its front side 35 such that an opening is formed between the front and rear guides sized to receive cable bead 28. A roller 36 can be joumaled at its opposite ends to plate 30 for supporting side strip 21 attached to camper 13 as the camper moves onto and off of bed 1 l. A recessed opening 37 can be formed in the bracket 27 sized to receive an outwardly extending locking wing 38 attached to the side of strip 21 when camper 13 is in its loaded position on bed 11. When locking wing 38 is received within bracket opening 37 camper 13 cannot be lifted from the bed of the vehicle. Preferably, the leading edges 39 of the cable guides 32 are angled so that bead 28 can be easily drawn thereover as it is pulled into the retaining slot between the front and rear cable guides.

As indicated, a support bracket 24 is affixed to the end of each side strip 21 proximate the front end of camper 13. Bracket 24 accomplishes a two fold purpose. Firstly, it supports Switchback pulley 25 used to return cable 26 to drum 22 (see FIG. 10), and secondly, it supports front roller 40 (see FIG. 4). Roller 40 is joumaled at its opposite ends within bracket 24 and is positioned to roll on the top face of vehicle bed 11 so that camper 13 more easily moves onto and off of the bed. A fixed support can, of course, be used instead of roller 40. A supplemental support plate 41 can be attached to bracket 24 as shown in FIG. 4 to aid in fixedly securing bracket 24 to camper bottom 12.

Switchback pulley 25 is adjustably secured to bracket 24 with bolts 42. While it is preferred to use a rotatably mounted switch-back pulley as shown in the drawings, it is within the scope of the invention to use any guide means such as a relatively smooth U-shaped cable channel for returning cable 28 back to the cable drum 22 proximate the front end of camper 13.

Cable drum 22 is preferably an elongated tubular shaft which extends transversely across camper bottom 12. As indicated,'the drum is rotatably mounted within housings 23 secured to side strips 21 and to supplemental support strips 43, of the type shown in FIG. 9, which are fixedly secured to the bottom of the camper. Drum 22 is held against endwise movement in drum housing 23 with retaining pins 44 passed through bore holes 45 formed and positioned in drum 22 on opposite sides of at least one of the housings 23. The opposite ends 46 of drum 22 are preferably shaped to receive the driving end of crank 20 and be driven therewith.

While it is preferred to use a flexible metal driving cable 26 for propelling camper 13 onto and off of vehicle bed 11, it is to be noted that any cord like member can be used for this purpose such as a chain, a fabric cord, a metal strap, or the like. The mid-portion of cable 26 is passed around pulley 25 or its equivalent, and its ends are wound around drum 22 and secured to said drum. By using a structure of this type a predetermined segment of the cable, i.e., the portion to which bead 28 is attached, can be moved from a position proximate drum 22 to the opposite end of the camper proximate pulley 25 by rotating drum 22 with crank 20. Bead 28 can be any enlarged bead like structure fixedly secured to cable 26 at the predetermined position herein described. For ease in installing the cable its ends can be fitted with enlarged stays 47 such as shown in FIG. 12 sized to be received through openings 48 in drum 22 whereupon cable 26 passes into a retaining slot 49 in communication with the opening 48 for retention therein.

To install the loading and unloading apparatus of this invention, side strips 21 are secured to camper bottom 12 along the opposite side edges of the bottom. The strips are positioned so that the locking wings 38 attached to the side strips 21 extending outwardly away from the vertically extending sides of the camper. Bracket 24 is also fixedly secured to the front end of the camper bottom by securing supplemental support plate 41 to the camper bottom with, for example, conventional wood screws. Cable drum 22 is then passed through housings 23 of side strips 21 and supplemental support strips 43 and strips 43 are secured to camper bottom 12. Retaining pins 44 are then positioned in pin openings 45 so that the pins are spaced on opposite sides of at least one drum housing 23. One end of each of the cables 26 is then attached to cable drum 22 and the other end of the cable is passed around pulleys 25 and returned to drum 22 where it is wrapped thereon and finally fixedly secured to the drum as heretofore described. A segment of each cable 26 which moves from a position proximate cable drum 22 to a position proximate pulley 25 is then selected for each cable and a bead 28 is fixedly attached thereto.

It is to be noted that while the loading and unloading device described herein related specifically to a plurality of cables 26 it is within the scope of this invention to use a single cable and cable propelling system. When a plurality of cables are used beads 28 are preferably aligned on the cables substantially equidistant from the front end of the camper so that when the beads coact with tie-down brackets 27 the camper moves onto and off of the vehicle bed with its longitudinal center axis substantially aligned with a longitudinal center axis of the vehicle bed. It is to be noted that brackets 27 are bolted or otherwise connected to bed 11 such that rollers 36 will be positioned directly under side strips 21 to coact therewith when camper 13 is loaded on bed 11 and the cable guides of brackets 27 are aligned with the cable 26 which extends between the front and rear ends of the camper. The angled leading edges 39 of cable guides 32 are positioned away from the rear end of vehicle bed 11 so that bead 28 can be easily positioned intothe slot between the cable guides when the camper is loaded as herein described.

In loading camper 13 with the loading and unloading apparatus of this invention, front legs 14 are extended to raise the camper so that its bottom 12 is positioned above bed 11. The vehicle is then moved so that the campers front end is directly over the back portion of the vehicle bed. At this time the camper is lowered onto the bed so that cables 26 are positioned within the guide slots in tie-down bracket 27. Crank is then rotated to propell cable 26 and thereby move beads 28 against angled leading edges 39 of cable guides 32 which lift the beads over the guides and into the slots formed therein. When this occurs cables 26 can no longer move with respect to the vehicle bed 11 as drum 22 is rotated but instead camper 13 is propelled onto the bed by continued rotation of the cable drum. Camper 13 is pulled onto bed 11 until locking wings 38 are received within openings 37 in brackets 27. At this point the camper is securely locked onto the vehicle bed. The camper is unloaded from the bed by merely reversing the operation herein described.

It is to be further noted that it is of course within the scope of this invention to reverse parts such that the cable and cable drive assembly are secured to the vehicle bed and brackets 27 are attached to the camper bottom proximate its front end.

Iclaim:

1. Apparatus for loading and unloading a camper onto and off of the bed of a pick-up truck which comprises a pair of elongated cables; first and second attaching means for securing each cable to the bottom of the camper proximate the campers front end and proximate the campers rear end; drum means rotatably mounted to the bottom of said camper proximate the rear end of said camper, said drum means coacting with both ends of each cable for propelling a predetermined segment of each cable to a first position proximate the front end of the bottom of said camper and to a second position proximate the rear end of the bottom of said camper, a bead attached to said predetermined segments of each cable; and a pair of brackets secured to the bed of said pick-up truck proximate the beds rear end for fixedly connecting said segment of said cables to said vehicle bed wherein said camper is drawn onto and off of the bed by moving said segment of said cables between the opposite ends of the bottom of said camper when said segment of said cable is affixed to said bracket, said brackets each having a base plate to which front and rear cable guides are secured, each of said cable guides having a slot to receive a cable therewrthm and sald ron and rear cable guides having an opening therebetween to form a retaining opening for said bead, at least one of said cable guides having angled leading edges adapted so that said bead may be guided up the angled edges to said openings.

2. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein the opposite ends of said cable are attached to said drum and a mid-portion of said cable is mounted over a switchback pulley secured to the bottom of said camper proximate the front end of said bottom.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said switchback pulley is secured to said metal support strip proximate one end of said strip and said drum is rotatably mounted to said strip proximate its opposite end.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein an elongated metal support strip is secured to the bottom of said camper proximate along the opposite side walls of said camper in a direction substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the camper and first roller means are attached to the bed of said traction vehicle proximate the rear end of said bed to coact with each of said support strips when said camper is moved onto and off of said bed.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein second roller means are attached to the bottom of said camper proximate the front end of said bottom to coact with the bed of said traction vehicle when said camper is moved onto and off of said bed.

6. Apparatus of claim 5 wherein the opposite ends of each of said cables are attached to said drum and a mid-portion of each of said cables is mounted over a switchback pulley secured to the bottom of said camper proximate the front end of said bottom.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein each switchback pulley is secured to one of the :metal support strips proximate one end of said strips and said drum is rotatably mounted to said strips proximate their opposite end. 

1. Apparatus for loading and unloading a camper onto and off of the bed of a pick-up truck which comprises a pair of elongated cables; first and second attaching means for securing each cable to the bottom of the camper proximate the camper''s front end and proximate the camper''s rear end; drum means rotatably mounted to the bottom of said camper proximate the rear end of said camper, said drum means coacting with both ends of each cable for propelling a predetermined segment of each cable to a first position proximate the front end of the bottom of said camper and to a second position proximate the rear end of the bottom of said camper, a bead attached to said predetermined segments of each cable; and a pair of brackets secured to the bed of said pick-up truck proximate the bed''s rear end for fixedly connecting said segment of said cables to said vehicle bed wherein said camper is drawn onto and off of the bed by moving said segment of said cables between the opposite ends of the bottom of said camper when said segment of said cable is affixed to said bracket, said brackets each having a base plate to which front and rear cable guides are secured, each of said cable guides having a slot to receive a cable therewithin and said front and rear cable guides having an opening therebetween to form a retaining opening for said bead, at least one of said cable guides having angled leading edges adapted so that said bead may be guided up the angled edges to said openings.
 2. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein the opposite ends of said cable are attached to said drum and a mid-portion of said cable is mounted over a switchback pulley secured to the bottom of said camper proximate the front end of said bottom.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said switchback pulley is secured to said metal support strip proximate one end of said strip and said drum is rotatably mounted to said strip proximate its opposite end.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein an elongated metal support strip is secured to the bottom of said camper proximate along the opposite side walls of said camper in a direction substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the camper and first roller means are attached to the bed of said traction vehicle proximate the rear end of said bed to coact with each of said support strips when said camper is moved onto and off of said bed.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein second roller means are attached to the bottom of said camper proximate the front end of said bottom to coact with the bed of said traction vehicle when said camper is moved onto and off of said bed.
 6. Apparatus of claim 5 wherein the opposite ends of each of said cables are attached to said drum and a mid-portion of each of said cables is mounted over a switchback pulley secured to the bottom of said camper proximate the front end of said bottom.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein each switchback pulley is secured to one of the metal support strips proximate one end of said strips and said drum is rotatably mounted to said strips proximate their opposite end. 